The doctrine of the synod of Dort and Arles, reduced to the practise With…

It is utterly untrue that any of our divines, of my knowledge, say that by the sin of Adam, his whole posterity hath lost their free will; In the time of my minority in the University, in divinity disputations we heard concerning free will such a distinction as this of common course. The actions of men are either natural or moral, or spiritual; the resolution of the truth, as touching free will, according to the foresaid distinction, was this; we have not lost our free will, in actions natural, nor in actions moral, but only in actions spiritual,¹ So that the natural man perceiveth not the things of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And the affection of the flesh is enmity unto God,² for it is not subject to the law of God no• can be. So that they ⟨p. 18⟩which are in the flesh cannot please God. Of heathen men the Apostle professeth that their minds are blinded, their hearts hardened,³ and they estranged from the life of God Eph. 4.18. that they are in the snare of the divill, led captive by him to do his will. That the Ephesians were dead in trespasses and sins before the time of their calling by the Gospel;⁴ and the like is affirmed of the Colossians Col. 2.11. Yet that which followeth in this Author is more unt••e imputing unto us, as if we maintained that every m•n is subject by inevitable necessity to do or leave undone that which every man acteth or omitteth, being good or evil. This imputation, I say, is utterly untrue; we say that every one doth freely whatsoever he doth, and omitteth freely whatsoever •e leaveth undone. Only this is to be understood aright, to wit, in respect of means tending unto ends, wherein alone and in the election thereof consisteth the liberty of mans will, and not in the appetition of the end; it being natural to a man to be carried to the liking of his end necessarily; according to that of Aristotle.